Chapter 5
Kade
"Remind me where we are going and what our next agenda is," I rubbed my palms in anticipation as I got out of the inner chambers of the dungeon, glancing at Silvius who tried to keep up with my pace.
"We are..." Silvius' voice trailed as he brought out an iPad, squinting his eyes a little to read the content displayed on its screen.
"Let me guess," I raised my finger, interrupting him, "We have a meeting with the Alpha of the Night Walker pack," I sighed, "That bastard,"
"No, Alpha. You are supposed to be at the Moon ball ceremony of the Crescent Moon pack and it is themed Romance,"
"How? The ceremony is supposed to be tomorrow, not today. Today is Friday," I stated, getting a little irritated at the mix-up.
"You are wrong, Alpha. Today is Saturday, not Friday. The meeting with the Alpha of the Night Walker pack was fixed for tomorrow and the Moon ball ceremony is today and if you don't hurry, you will be late," Silvius stated proudly, indirectly reminding me that he had gotten a mate.
I was wrong?!
No one had ever told me that I was wrong.
I have been stressed lately, hence the forgetfulness.
I am the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack and I am never wrong!
There is no way I could forget the Moon ball ceremony of the Crescent Moon pack. The Crescent Moon pack was one of the packs that formed an alliance with my pack as they didn't want to get on my bad side. My pack was at peace with the rest of the packs as long as they didn't break the rules.
The Moon ball ceremony was rotated among the packs. The Blood Moon Pack hosted last year's Moon ball ceremony, and this summer, it was the Crescent Moon's turn to host the Moon ball ceremony.
Moon ball ceremonies weren't my thing as I couldn't wait to leave even if I hadn't gotten at the pack. I wish I could ignore the invitation as I had always done, but I couldn't as my presence was mandatory.
"You don't have to look all gloomy, this Moon ball is going to be wonderful, I can feel it in my guts and you've always told me to follow the feelings in my guts,"
"This time, you will find your mate, our Luna, I am certain about that,"
But I wasn't interested in finding my mate.
Years before, finding my mate was something I desired, something I longed for but after years of no luck, I tossed the feeling aside. Right now, finding my mate was simply out of necessity as I must have a mate to keep the pack in order.
Mates doesn't excite me anymore after seeing how my stone-hearted Beta turned weak the moment he found his mate. I could still remember how he couldn't stop smiling, showering her with kisses, and clinging to her like a second skin.
Or was it how my brother turned to a lily when he found his mate?
Pathetic.
"Fine," I waved my hands, dismissing the topic as it started to irritate me.
"You can't just say fine, you need a suit with a touch of red since the theme is romance. You can't go dressed like that. You are attending a Moon ball not a fucking club," Silvius complained making me roll my eyes.
"Stop acting like you are my father, I can wear whatever I want," I walked away from him, glancing at my outfit. Black denim jeans, a black denim leather jacket that was left unbuttoned, partly covering my white shirt with black boots.
Not bad.
"You will look odd compared to those that will attend the event," Silvius hit his head in frustration as he tried to convince me.
"I have always looked odd," I said, ignoring Silvius as something flapping in the fountain caught my attention. I strode towards the fountain with my gaze fixed keenly on it as it struggled to stay afloat in the water. I let my hands wander in the water before they caught something.
A bird.
Its wings got stuck in a branch, making it drown in the fountain. But I had saved it.
How compassionate.
I carefully lifted its fragile feathers, pulling out the branch that hindered its flight and placed the small bird on my large finger palm, urging it to fly, to be free. But it turned around and pecked my fingers with its sharp beak, repeatedly.
Interesting.
"Never help a person because he appears weak. When he gains strength, he will turn against you," My father's warning resonated in my ear. I couldn't grasp the meaning because I was young, but now, I finally understood.
A low growl escaped my lips as I tried to warn the bird to stop pushing its limit but it continued pecking my finger, causing it to bleed before flying towards my face to peck me.
The audacity!
I caught it before it could come in contact with my face and began to pull its neck apart, slowly.
"I can see that you have chosen death!" I whispered into its ears as if he could understand what I said.
"Alpha, it is just a dumb bird," Silvius tried to intervene but a dangerous growl from me cautioned him. He dared not intercede for the unfortunate bird.
"It is not a dumb bird, it is more clever than you think," I gritted my teeth as I stared at the trembling bird in my hand, "I saved it but it turned against me,"
Angrily, I twisted Its neck before tearing them apart, dropping it on the floor and walking over it, crushing it completely as a horrid look was plastered on Silvius' face.
"I might be compassionate, but my soul is the devil's residence," I said, walking away from him and entering my car, "I have a Moon ball to attend," I drove off, ignoring the greetings from my guards.
The ride from the Blood Moon pack to the Crescent Moon pack lasted for a few hours as I kept my distance from everyone when I got to the venue.
I strode in, observing the beautiful decorations before I was greeted with frightened faces. Mothers hid their daughters away from me, mates clung to themselves dearly, moving out of my sight, and mateless wolves ran for their dear lives, praying to the moon goddess not to be mated to me as I was rumoured to be the most ferocious Alpha and no one dared to piss me off.
Turns out the rumours were true.
I liked that. Fear me.
"Have you found her?" Silvius said excitedly as he mind-linked me which I wanted no time in blocking him. I didn't want any disturbance.
I walked towards the end of the tent, where nobody sat as I occupied a table, entertaining myself by glancing at other wolves who turned away in fright.
How I enjoyed the fearful look on their faces.
While some were scared to make eye contact with me, some looked at me curiously.
Was it because of my outfit?
At once, my sense of smell heightened and I was assaulted with the strong smell of creamy vanilla, jasmine and lavender. I hadn't smelt something as good as this before but I liked it. The seductive smell of jasmine, intertwined with the creamy smell of vanilla and a touch of lavender sent my eyes hungrily scanning the crowd.
My wolf became agitated, whining and pacing about in my head as my head began to throb.
"What is the matter, Tyson?" I asked, maintaining the expressionless look on my face.
"Our mate, I think she is here..." He grumbled as he kept pacing about in my head.
I stood up, letting my nose lead me to the source of the scent as it grew stronger and wilder, driving me nuts, driving my wolf nuts as he wouldn't keep calm.
I had practically walked out of the tent still following the scent before I caught the sight of a small girl, a lady, standing at the edge of the tent, peeping at the cheerful crowd with hope plastered on her face. She looked like a slave, clad in rags, in the shadow of herself.
She looked like she had seen better days.
"Mate! Mate! Mate!" Tyson yelled in my head as he won't keep calm.
"Mate?" I whispered as my heart thumped loudly in my chest. My gaze travelled up to the full moon who shone in her glory before it landed on the slave girl who looked like she had seen a ghost.
This can't be true. Someone should wake me up from this nightmare.
Oops, Alpha Kade is Esmeralda's mate! Did you see that coming? What do you think will happen? Your comments are appreciated
Chapter sixEsmeraldaLast night, I had walked into my cell feeling dejected, but this morning, I walked out of my cell the happiest person, causing confused eyes to turn in my direction, wondering the reason for my sudden happiness. The Moon ball was today! Forgetting my terrible backaches, I bounced out of my cell to the hall and collected the cleaning equipment from a senior servant who stood by the hallway with an unimpressed expression on her face. "Good morning, ma'am," I greeted with the widest smile, expecting the same from her but she welcomed me with the most disgusting expression and dismissed me almost immediately.I didn't let that get to me as I hurriedly collected the cleaning equipment from her and followed an older wolf who was followed by other pups. He was in charge of cleaning the hall that will be used for the Moon ball and he had other pups to assist him but more hands were needed as we were expecting lots of wolves from numerous packs, making them choose a fe
KadeI stood with a horrid expression for another second, pinching myself to clear my doubt whether I was still dreaming or it was reality. But it turned out to be a freaking reality. I maintained a decent distance from her, watching her keenly as she submitted to me. While she stood a mere 5'8, I towered her in height greatly at a whopping 6'4, making me have a good view of her from the crown of her head to the sole of her feet. I couldn't help but notice how her small figure trembled greatly as my aura blasted her, making her lean on the canopy stand for support. Weak.I noticed her shivering as the shabby long sleeve dress she wore wasn't doing justice to her, exposing her pale skin to cold as her tiny fingers hugged her slim waist that was hidden in her floral gown. Her odd-looking dirty wavy strawberry hair that rested on her wide hips spiked my curiosity as I stared at it strangely. It was rare for a wolf to have strawberry-coloured hair. Who was she? The more my piercing ga
Ph***eI stood erect as my hands made their way to the markings of the wall, carefully rewriting an almost erasing line that ran vertically. With my inside raging in anger, I slashed a horizontal line against the four vertical lines before I placed both hands on my head, screaming my lungs out and destroying everything within my reach.I took two steps away from the wall that I had marred with tally marks while counting the number of the days I had spent in the past since there were no calendars and tally marks were the only method I could adopt in order not to lose count of the number of days I had spent. I needed to leave this place as I was already sick of it and the mere thought of spending my forever here makes me wish for death instead. But I had to come to the reality that there was no way I could leave the past, not when the portal to the present world had been sealed shut by a group of powerful witches. No one in the world could open the portal, not even a sorcerer... except
EsmeraldaI let my gaze get lost in those oval shaped green eyes of his. Gem-stone green eyes that pierced through me as if trying to read me. At once, they darkened as I could feel his wolf wanting to take over. Those cold, strange, ruthless eyes that were fixed on me suddenly melted as they were replaced with softness and curiosity. I knew what he was thinking without him saying it. His eyes roamed my dried, tangled strawberry coloured hair with questions on his mind. It was rare for a wolf to have strawberry coloured hair. I was grateful that he didn't ask me how I possessed such weird hair colour because I didn't know how. Once, my father told me that every firstborn of the Harper family possessed certain powers and the confirmation of such powers was having a strawberry coloured hair. I froze the moment I felt his curious gaze land on my body, looking at me from head to toe, like I was on display. I quietly hugged my small frame feeling ashamed of my appearance. As if my arid h
KadeI froze in my tracks the moment she threw herself on the ground and grabbed my boot, pleading with me not to reject her. Bold of her. So bold of her to think that I was going to change my mind because of her actions. Begging was irritating and it made me more ruthless. I fought the urge to toss her aside as her slender hands brought dirt to my sparkling black boot. I closed my eyes, as my mind wandered to the past, remembering the torture sessions I passed through because I begged. "Ahh!" I screamed in anguish as the horsewhip landed on my naked body that dripped sweat and blood. I shook the table in an attempt to escape but I was already trapped in it, as my body was tied firmly to it. "Please, stop beating me, it hurts," I pleaded, hoping my father would harken to my voice and withdraw the whip but he proved me wrong by lashing me three more times."Stop begging, Arcade!" His mean voice vibrated throughout the room, making me want to run away cowardly into a hole like a ra
EsmeraldaThe moment he asked for my name the second time, I knew he was referring to the name my mum gave me. But I wanted to be sure, so as not to anger my mate as he was a man of impatience. Esmeralda. Meant Emerald in Spanish and Portuguese. A rare precious gemstone signifying truth and love as my mum always explained to me. Esmeralda. I loved the beautiful sound of the name and I bore it with pride. A tear welled up in my eye and ran down my cheek as a memory of the past flooded me. I remembered a five-year-old me, running out of the school bus, caring less that I could fall and sprain my knees, ignoring the shouts from the school bus driver as my mind was centred on one person. My mother. I couldn't wait to be wrapped in her ever-loving arms while I rest my small head on the swells of her firm breasts, allowing my tiny fingers to playfully comb her soft, silky hair. I slowed my pace when I got to the doorpost, jumping and stretching to open the door as my height was belo
EsmeraldaI stopped in my tracks, with my gaze fixed on the huge man that didn't bother to glance at me as he kept walking. "Wait up," I called, trying to keep up with his pace, hoping he would slow down but he didn't. Jerk!I practically ran after him as fast as my long legs could carry me, but they were no match for his extra long legs.I ran. The thought of it made me beam in excitement. I had spent years locked in a cell like a prisoner and for the first time in many years, I ran. I had completely forgotten what running felt like as I had always been confined to a kneeling or sitting position, restricting my movement. But this time, I was running. And I was not just running from my past or from my evil half-sister, I was running to my mate! It didn't take long before my legs began to lose their strength as my knees almost brushed the cold floor. It was too soon to feel tired. Maybe, I wasn't used to running and the short sprint drained my energy. Or maybe I was just a weak
EsmeraldaThe ride to Blood Moon Pack was quiet. Only our sharp intake of breath could be heard. No one dared say a word as Alpha Kade's intimidating aura filled the car, suffocating us in our seats. Not even a whimper escaped my lips when my back began to ache badly. Selene and I sat still like a bot, stripped of emotions and pain except that I leaned in several positions sometimes, seeking a comfortable posture I could stay in without being in intense pain. At least, till the ride was over. Turned out I hadn't recovered from the previous lashes and my pathetically slow healing made matters worse. A familiar soft small palm covered my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as if communicating with me to endure the pain till we got to our destination. I snuggled closer as the hand extended to my shoulder. Taking the cue, I laid my head on Selene's shoulder, while she caressed my arm, easing me of the pain. Despite our sealed lips, our eyes never failed to convey communication. Sometimes,